The present invention relates to a therapeutic glove and especially to a therapeutic glove for the application of heat or cold to a person's hand while exercising the hand.
A variety of therapeutic hand and exercising devices have been provided in the past as well as various devices for heating and cooling a person's hand. Prior patents which provide therapeutic gloves or the like include the Hensey U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,541 for an athletic therapeutic glove for exercising the muscles of the fingers, hands, and wrists and forearms. It is fabricated from a flexible material and has a plurality of elongated tube-shaped elastomeric bladders which are pressurized with air. The Matsumura et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,369 is a remedial device for hand insufficiency and has a plurality of air sacks inflatable with compressed air. The Cronin U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,218 is a glove splint for an arthritic hand and has a glove-like envelope filled with a fluid for encapsulating the hand, thumb and fingers to provide a shock absorbing buffer to the hand. The Cronin U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,658 is a glove splint which has a glove-like envelope which is filled with fluid to encapsulate the hand. The Matsumura et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,605 is a remedial device for hand insufficiency which uses compressed air inflating air sacks in the first and second bag bodies covering the hand. The Reynolds et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,537,688 is a hand covering with vibration reducing bladder and includes a plurality of cells forming a bladder which are filled with air or a compressible fluid. The Fuson U.S. Pat. No. 3,741,207 is a hand restraining mitt which includes a chamber either inflated with air or filled with a resilient block of foam-like material to conform to the natural curvature of the wearer's hand.
The present invention advantageously includes a therapeutic glove having a plurality of bladders formed therein and filled with a viscous material, such as a fluid clay material, which advantageously can be heated or cooled for applying heat therapy to the hand while providing an exercise medium for bending and squeezing the clay filled glove.